Loser
by Golden Snowflake
Summary: Here I sit, watching my worst enemy win my true love's heart.


Hey! It's me! This is dedicated to anyone who has ever felt unpopular or left out. (It requires a certain dislike of the evil pink lady too.) Read on!

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"Look." Her best friend tapped her lightly on the shoulder, pale lavender eyes flashing with admiration. "Isn't she wonderful? I wish I was her."

She was adored.

Everything she did was perfect. Everything she said was witty and every smile she smiled could win a pageant. Her hair was glossy but not too shiny; the most incredible hue of natural pink. Her eyes were wide but not too wide. They were an enchanting shade of emerald and her skin was more tanned than any other girl's at the academy. Her teeth were perfectly white, too, and she had never worn a shirt that didn't have the school colors on it- red and white. Boys adored her, especially since she was growing now in certain areas. Growing a lot. She got decent grades as well, and through all of this, she managed to act sweet and innocent.

"Well, I don't. Not by a long shot."

_She_ was invisible.

Everything she did was wrong. No matter how clever it was, her every word was ignored or scoffed at. Her teeth weren't perfectly white and she was pale as well. Her hair was long, blonde, and shiny, but because it was shinier than that of the popular girls, it was automatically strange and not right. Her eyes were wide and the most unusual shade of pale, luminous aquamarine. If the popular people- that one in particular -were pretty, then she was gorgeous. She knew it, too. The only reason she wasn't accepted was because she wasn't cheap and because she never got in trouble. Their selection process made no sense to her, and although she knew she was just a important as any of them, she felt completely worthless.

"I'm glad you don't care about her. If you're happy with yourself, you're worth twice as much." This was her other best friend speaking. He was quiet unless he was with her, and he was rather strange. He always wore dark glasses. She was the only person there who had ever seen his eyes.

"You say that all the time." She began looking at her chipped purple nail polish in an attempt to mask how lonely she felt.

"I say it because it's true. Besides, you're far more beautiful than her."

"Thanks. Make _them_ believe that." He responded my watching her worriedly from behind dark lenses.

"Do you think she'll do it today?" This was her first best friend. She had long dark hair that was almost blue in the sunlight, and her eyes shone beautifully. She had a full figure, but always covered it with her baggy, fluffy hoodies. These accompanied by her soft, small voice made her adorable. She was too absorbed in worshipping the preps to realize it, though, and that discouraged the friend who was staring distractedly at her nails even more.

"I don't know," she replied. "It doesn't matter to me."

That wasn't true. Although she resented that girl for the attention she got and pitied her for how blind she was to the world outside of the academy, there were _some_ popular people she liked.

Okay, a couple.

Okay, one.

He was amazing.

His hair was raven black and spiked out behind his head with long bangs falling on either side of his face. That face was flawless. His eyes were so deep blue that they were almost black and his features were like those of a movie star. He was tall, lean, and quiet. He wasn't loved for how he treated others. He was loved because he was just plain _loved_. Girls flocked to him and guys loathed him, but all of this was taken in by his knowing silence. Something everyone else seemed to have forgotten was that he was an orphan. She felt horribly sorry for him. Although he was adored, it was always a carnal feeling and not a caring one. The more they surrounded him the more isolated he was. The girl didn't know how she knew that, but she was sure of it nonetheless.

The blue-haired girl continued. "I think she might! She's doing it today!"

"She has a good chance, too." The blonde glanced at her other friend for support. He smiled weakly and wrapped an arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to think about what she would do when she got home, but it didn't make her feel any better.

There had been a rumor going around for the past few days about that girl; the female with the pink hair and mint-green eyes. She was going to ask him out. Him. The most loved boy at the academy. Although the blonde hated to think about it, she had a bad feeling he'd accept her offer. The reason she admired him while she loathed the others was one she never talked about. She'd been at the flower shop one day, working her usual shift, when he'd come in. His hands were in his pockets, (black, baggy jeans pockets,) and he had kept his eyes down as he searched. He had to have looked at every flower twice, from the azaleas to the lilies and back again, before finally selecting a single red rose. She watched him, her elbows on the counter and her face rested on her hands, as he stopped in front of her.

"That it?"

He nodded.

"It'll be $3.50 then."

He handed her a five. "Keep the change."

"Are you sure?" She blinked, still fixed on his unreadable eyes.

"Yeah." He turned to leave and was halfway out the door when she worked up the courage to speak again.

"Sasuke?"

The boy turned around, blinking at her.

"I'm sorry about your family." There were a million other things she wanted to say, but she couldn't. She knew a loser like her shouldn't waste his time.

A flicker of surprise passed over his face as he stared at her. He nodded before walking back out.

That night, she walked in the door and wiped her eyes, sighing heavily. She knew she had a future. Her life revolved around focusing on work, studying, and friendship. She knew she wasn't shallow. Every time she finally became happy with herself, though, she'd get yelled at from across the street or shoved out of the way by one of them. This time it had been her, the girl with the pink hair and green eyes.

"Sakura! You cut your hair! It looks nice."

Stopping to be admired, the girl smiled. "Thanks. You think so?"

"Yeah. I liked it long too, but-"

"Well, that shows how much you know, Ino. You're not a little girl anymore. Your hair shouldn't be that long. It's ridiculous." She shoved past the blonde and walked away.

When Ino had gotten home she had gone straight to the bathroom and cut all her hair off. It had always been her pride, and as she watched the long ribbons fall out, she felt as if she'd betrayed herself. After throwing it away and brushing what little was left, she'd gone to her room feeling cheap and alienated. There she burst into tears.

As she sat down on the edge of her bed, something caught her eye. On her windowsill sat a vase. In it was a single red rose.

After that, the blonde had grown her hair back out and began wearing her favorite color, purple, again. It took a year for her ponytail to reach its original length; a long wait. Now she sat with her two best friends at the academy where all her troubles began, waiting for the girl she couldn't stand to win her true love's heart.

"Hey, Sasuke." The girl smiled sweetly as she sat across from him, hair shimmering and eyes gleaming with a calculating light. "What's up?"

"Not much." He continued reading his book.

"I wrote about you on my MySpace yesterday, Sasuke. Do you have one? I've never seen it."

The boy didn't respond.

"I was thinking the other day about you, and I don't know you that well, I guess. So do you think we could go see a movie Friday night and get to know each other?"

The boy simply turned a page. The three who were listening in watched in anxious silence as did Sakura. Ino wished his back wasn't to them. She wanted to see his face when he said the word that would probably ruin her life.

"How about it? Friday night?"

"No."

The blonde's jaw dropped. She glanced at either of her friends to see their mouths agape too. Sakura blinked rapidly, smiling then frowning then settling back on a smile.

"Well- that's okay, I'm free Saturday night too so-"

"I said no."

She laughed in disbelief. "B-but- I- Sasuke-"

"I have better things to do than spend my time with a cheap, shallow little girl who thinks she gets everything she wants. I have other plans." He looked over his shoulder, straight at Ino. She could hear her heart pounding as she gazed at him in amazement. Sakura glanced at the blonde and back at Sasuke.

"But- I-"

"If you'll excuse me, I have to finish chapter six for tomorrow." He returned his attention back to his book. Ino could feel herself grinning as her friends stared at her in amazement.

The rejected girl stood up and walked back to her table as her other popular friends turned back to their homework. She started talking frantically in a chirping, high-pitched voice until one of them whispered loudly, "look, I'm trying to study for my genjutsu test."

"Yeah, just be quiet, okay?" Another agreed.

"Whoa, look! Sasuke just rejected Sakura!" Ino turned her gaze to the hallway where one of her louder friends with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes stood. Several people hurried up to the doorway, watching in fascination as the pink-haired girl talked squeakily to herself. "And he's dating someone else!" With that he winked at Ino. Ino gave him a thumbs-up.

"I can't believe it," the blue-haired pale-eyed girl murmured. Her eyes were still fixed on the boy who was reading his book. "I guess being popular doesn't always mean getting what you want…"

"Like I always said," her other friend agreed calmly from behind dark glasses.

The blonde nodded thoughtfully. "Well… I guess I'm not a loser after all."


End file.
